New consultant may be hired soon for Ukiah's Palace Hotel

City officials reported Wednesday that progress was being made toward beginning work again at downtown Ukiah's Palace Hotel.

Council member Mary Anne Landis told her fellow council members at the Feb. 6 meeting of the Ukiah City Council that she spoke this week with the building's presumed owner, Eladia Laines, on the telephone.

"We hope we can say that (Laines) is the owner," said Landis, asking City Attorney David Rapport, "Have we gotten there yet?"

"We're getting closer," said Rapport, who participated in the conference call with Laines. Landis and Mayor Doug Crane make up the council's Palace Hotel ad-hoc committee, and the two speak with Laines regularly to find out what progress she is making in her attempt to rehabilitate the formerly grand hotel.

"Work was stopped most recently because the consultant who was brought in to look at air quality issues, specifically asbestos and lead, wasn't paid, and he put a lien against the property," Landis said. "That spurred (the Mendocino County Air Quality Management District) to shut the job down.

"Since that time, the lien has been removed," Landis continued. "We've been told he was paid and there's a notarized release of the lien, though we haven't seen it yet."

"I think (Laines) said she had identified another consultant who could come in who she was going to hire," Rapport said, adding that "when we get the title issues straightened out, a permit could be issued" once a consultant is hired again.

In August, Laines announced that she had hired the certified consultant, a step that was required by the MCAQMD before it would give permission for any debris removal.

However, Laines told the council at its Jan. 16 meeting that the "asbestos consultant we had retained resigned on Dec. 22," explaining that "there was some miscommunication with his bill.

"I'm not sure why he got as upset as he did," Laines continued. "I understand (the consultant) sent out a lot of e-mails to local agencies because he was mad. It was unfortunate. I don't know what else to say."

When asked if she could show proof of a clear title, Laines said she had restored Unique Properties, the new name of the corporation that includes the hotel in its assets, to "good standing" and hoped to be able to print out evidence to that effect for the meeting, but could not.

The Ukiah City Council has received a monthly report from Laines since April of last year, when it first considered a resolution that would allow the city's Public Works Department to take over abatement of the rotted building, which has been unused for decades.

The council has delayed voting on the resolution, agreeing to allow Laines to demonstrate progress while repeatedly asking for proof that she owns the building and waiting for the city's building official to issue her a permit to allow major work to occur inside the structure.

When asked after the meeting how much more time the council would likely give Laines, Mayor Crane said there was no easy answer.

"I want (Laines) to have every reasonable chance to clear the title and complete the work without (the building) ending up the community's burden," he said.

Justine Frederiksen can be reached at udjjf@ukiahdj.com, on Twitter @JustFrederiksen or at 468-3521.